Pleurodesmospora lepidopterorum 2021

Pleurodesmospora lepidopterorum W.H. Chen, Y.F. Han & Z.Q. Liang, sp. nov. 2021

MycoBank No: 839148

Holotype: China, Guizhou Province, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefec ture, Duyun City (26°21'24.71"N, 107°22'48.22"E), 1 October 2019, Wanhao Chen, holotype GZAC DY1050, ex-type culture GZAC DY10501. Sequences from isolated strain DY10501 have been deposited in GenBank with accession numbers: ITS = MW826576, RPB1 = MW834315, RPB2 = MW834316 and TEF = MW834317.

Morphological description

Sexual morph: Undetermined

Asexual morph: Colonies on PDA, 3.9–4.1 cm diam. in 14 d at 25 °C, white, con sisting of a basal felt and cottony, floccose hyphal overgrowth, reverse pale yellowish. Prostrate hyphae smooth, septate, hyaline, 1.3–1.9 μm diam. Erect or procumbent conidiophores usually arising from aerial hyphae, barely differentiated from vegetative hyphae, usually branched. Conidiogenous cells polyphialidic, terminal and intercalary, bearing numerous short-cylindrical, 1.8–3.5 μm long and 0.7–1.3 μm wide conidiog enous pegs, in whorls often below the septa. The terminal or lateral conidiogenous cells cylindrical, 5.9–12.0 × 1.8–2.2 μm. Conidia in chains, hyaline, smooth-walled, sub globose or ellipsoidal, one-celled, 2.3–3.6 × 1.7–3.3 μm. Chlamydospores and synne mata not observed. Size and shape of phialides and conidia similar in culture on PDA, OA agar and on natural substrate. 

Culture characteristics:

Habitat:

Distribution: Duyun City, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, China.

GenBank Accession:

ITS MW826576; RPB1 MW834315 ; RPB2 MW834316; TEF MW834317

ITS MW826577;RPB1 –; RPB2 MW834318; TEF MW834319

Remarks: Pleurodesmospora lepidopterorum was readily identified as belonging to Pleurodesmospora in the family-level phylogenetic tree (Fig. 2). When compared with the typical characteristics of P. coccorum, P. lepidopterorum was easily distinguished by its longer conidiogenous pegs located in the terminal or lateral conidiophores, and smaller subglobose or ellipsoidal conidia.

Reference: Chen, W. H., Han, Y. F., Liang, J. D., Tian, W. Y., & Liang, Z. Q. (2021). Multi-gene phylogenetic evidence indicates that Pleurodesmospora belongs in Cordycipitaceae (Hypocreales, Hypocreomycetidae) and Pleurodesmospora lepidopterorum sp. nov. on pupa from China. MycoKeys, 80, 45.

Pleurodesmospora lepidopterorum A infected pupa (Lepidoptera) B, C top (B) and underside (C) of a colony cultured on PDA medium at 14 d D–J conidiogenous pegs and conidia K conidia in chains. Scale bars: 10 mm (B, C) 10 μm (D–K).